Breaking news folks, the Islanders have signed free agent goaltender Martin Biron to a one year contract worth $1.4 million dollars. This is all according to the New York Post.

There was speculation that on-the-mend all star netminder Rick DiPietro was going to be allowed plenty of time to heal, it’s pretty much a given now with Roloson and now Biron that he can take his sweet time returning.

I can hear it now though, an entire hockey fan base just either laughed or sighed about the true status of DiPietro. After all the gaffes last season with Ricky’s knees and hips, is this just a play-it-safe move or insurance JUST IN CASE he cannot make it back another season? In either case, Biron made $3.5 million dollars last season, so for Garth Snow to go out and sign TWO well known goaltenders for under $5 million, I would say he got himself a few steals.

Now that goaltending has been addressed, it’s time to move on to two other areas – Scoring and Toughness.

Just to calm the initial fears of some of the “oh the sky is falling Islanders fans” – Please read the following quote from the NY Post story:

“If DiPietro is healthy enough to become part of the Islanders’ early-season rotation, Snow will have a comparably cheap asset (Biron) to move for players or draft picks. If DiPietro needs more time, however, the Islanders will be able to sleep well at night.”

I now ask you this question; Would you rather have TWO, count them TWO – fully capable goaltenders whom can keep the Islanders at least entertaining, should DiPietro not make it back at some point? Do you want DiPietro to rush back into action, again? Do you want this team to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again?

Come on, this move is a necessary evil regardless of what it means. Why cant we all just relax and enjoy the summer and take each and every day of DiPietro’s recovery and rehabilitation, one small step at a time?

Updated 6:24pm with Team Release:

The New York Islanders today announced that they have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with goaltender, Martin Biron.

Biron appeared in 55 games with the Philadelphia Flyers last season, posting a 29-19-5 record and a 2.76 goals against average. The Lac St. Charles, QC native led the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, recording a 9-8 record and a 2.97 goals against average.

“Adding Marty gives us three bona-fide number one goalies,” said Garth Snow, General Manager, New York Islanders. “We learned about the importance of stability in our line-up from last year and he now allows us to have another quality starter.”

Biron has played a total of 433 games in the NHL and comes to the Islanders with a career record of 199-162-25-20-25 (W-L-T-OT-SO), a goals against average of 2.59 and a save percentage of .912. The 6’3, 180 pound net-minder began his career with the Buffalo Sabres where he played parts of seven seasons with both the Sabres and the team’s American Hockey League affiliate at the time, the Rochester Americans. He currently ranks second on Buffalo’s All-Time List in shutouts (18) and third in game played (300) and wins (134).

I actually really like this deal. You have to assume the absolute worst with DP; it really shouldn’t be shocking that the Islanders are hedging their bets with DP’s health. If nothing else, they’re covered in case DP can’t come back, something they were decidedly unprepared for last year. And like you said, in a perfect world, he’s a tradeable commodity. My only thing is, Biron wouldn’t have agreed to sign here unless upper management told him he’d be getting lots of playing time – and I’m sure they told Roloson the same thing as well.

I would venture to say they talked about playing time, but if Biron went this long into free agency – it’s pretty safe to assume nobody was beating down his door. He is playing for a contract, the Islanders are the stepping stone to rejuvenating a career after all.